Are Retailers Ready for CyberMonday?

Virtual Hold Technology Publishes Online Shopping Study

AKRON, OHIO--(Marketwire - Nov 19, 2012) - Online retail sales for CyberMonday and all year-round could be increased, and brand impressions improved, if online shoppers had easy access to customer service assistance when they need it, concludes a national study released today by Virtual Hold Technology® (VHT®), a world leader in conversation strategies that bridge the self-service gap between customers and the people who can help.

More than three-quarters of shoppers attempting to make an online purchase said they had been frustrated trying to obtain help after experiencing difficulty completing the purchase. About the same number said they had abandoned an online shopping cart due to frustration with getting the help they needed.

The Adcom Group conducted the VHT Online Shopping Customer Experience Study to investigate the online purchase experience across various devices and to reveal insights into online shopping habits and spending, customer frustration points and their consequences for brands, and the impact of improving the online purchase experience with a bridge to human help.

Quick problem resolution shows a clear correlation to the likelihood of brand, website or app referral as well as to purchase behavior. A majority of those surveyed said they would purchase more products from a website that allowed them to click or tap for customer service help. More than 75% said they would prefer a site that offered this convenience over a competitor's site that did not, and more than half said they would become promoters of the brand. The complete results of the study are available for download at www.virtualhold.com/onlineshopping.

"This research shows that online retailers can differentiate from competitors and increase sales by implementing Virtual Hold Technology's simple Conversation Bridge® solution," said Eric Camulli, VHT's vice president of marketing. "By consistently providing good experiences online and across channels, retailers can build loyalty and reputation as well as drive and protect revenue."

VHT advocates a customer-centric approach to customer service that helps consumers achieve their goals in real-time while helping companies to effectively coordinate automated and human capital. VHT's mobile conversation strategy, created for businesses that care about customer relationships and brand image, helps consumers achieve their goals more conveniently. The company's new Conversation Bridge is a simple, multichannel solution for blending automation with the human touch. It gives today's customers the help they need at key touch points so brand interactions are seamless and therefore more satisfying, and companies a simple and cost-effective tool for improving customer satisfaction.

About Virtual Hold Technology® (VHT®)VHT's Conversation Bridge® is a simple solution with huge impact that provides customers a consistent experience no matter how they try to contact you. VHT's intelligent callback solutions prepare businesses for next-generation communications channels, such as mobile apps and internet-connected TV consoles, by enabling context data to be passed from these channels to existing routing and screen-pop systems. To learn more about how VHT can save your company money, optimize your customer interactions and transform your customer's experience, visit www.conversationbridge.com or email info@virtualhold.com.